


Concessions

by deandratb



Category: One Day at a Time (TV 2017)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Shippy if you Squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 03:41:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18380243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deandratb/pseuds/deandratb
Summary: Prompt fic; at the movies, Penelope's snack smuggling and Schneider's casual spending collide.





	Concessions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WittyWallflower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WittyWallflower/gifts).



“How did you talk me into this again?”

Penelope peered up at the marquee as the ticket line inched forward. 

Schneider side-hugged her cheerfully where they stood. “It’s gonna be great! The trailer looked like so much fun.”

“I only watched the last one because Alex and Elena teamed up and got me in a weak moment. I must be crazy coming back for more.”

“Nah, you’re not crazy. You just didn’t have better plans.” 

Too pleased with the company to be insulted by that, Schneider grinned at the poster near the door. “Who doesn’t love dragons?”

Penelope didn’t respond as they made it to the front of the line and he paid for the tickets. Normally, she would have insisted on splitting the cost, but they both knew she never would’ve picked the movie they were about to see. So it was really the least he could do.

"Thanks.” Ticket in hand, she was halfway to the theater’s main hallway before she realized she had lost Schneider.

He was in a new line, she saw when she located him--the serpentine one that led to the concessions counter. Huffing out a sigh, Penelope went to retrieve him.

“Thought I lost you for a second there,” Schneider declared as she approached. “Wanna split an Icee?”

“No, I don’t want to split an Icee. What are you doing here?”

“Well, you might have noticed that this is the line to the snack bar. I’m here for snacks.”

“Schneider, they charge an arm and a leg for snacks at the theater! We’re not buying their overpriced popcorn and candy. Come on.”

Despite his height, her grip on his arm carried enough force to move him back a few inches. He pulled himself free, planting his feet stubbornly. 

“I know how you feel about spending money, but half the fun of a movie theater is getting to eat junk food next to strangers eating other junk food. It’s my treat, okay? You can get whatever you want!”

“Who pays is not the point. It’s a ripoff, and we are not rewarding that.”

“Penelope...” He frowned, rocking back on his heels as he tried to think of a convincing argument. “I  **really**  like Raisinets.”

Her eyes flicked down to her cargo pants, then back to him. “I have Raisinets,” she informed him in an exaggerated whisper. 

Penelope habitually brought food and drinks with her when she came over to share Schneider’s impressive home theater system, but he hadn’t expected her to do the same in public--not when he was happy to buy enough for both of them. 

The concessions line was moving, he realized. He would lose his place if they didn’t settle this now. 

Schneider reached for Penelope’s hand, the one that wasn’t holding her ticket, and laced his fingers through hers. Aiming his biggest, most charming smile at her, he tried again. 

“I promise not to pay twenty dollars for overbuttered popcorn and M&Ms, if you agree to let me buy the drinks. Compromise is healthy, right?”

She hesitated, and he knew he had her. “Pen, what does it say about us if we can’t find common ground at the movies?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She squeezed his hand and let it go. “I want a Dr. Pepper.”

“Great! Blue raspberry Icee or cherry?”

“I told you I don’t...” Penelope shook her head, but she was smiling. “Blue raspberry.”

“An excellent choice.”

It still bugged her that they had paid full price for the refreshments Schneider was arranging strategically in cupholders as the lights went down, but she reminded herself that if he really wanted to waste his money, it wasn’t her business.

As soon as the theater was dark, she started digging up snacks under the cover of noisy ads. 

“Here you go,” she told Schneider, passing him the Raisinets box once she was sure there were no ushers nearby. 

She caught his whisper back just in time to be laughing when the first trailer started.

“They’re so  **warm**!” 


End file.
